under the light
by Something Warm
Summary: Where did that beautiful white light go?/Oboreru Knife, take-two.


Reading Oboreru Knife—can't say I like where that's going. But I'm in love with these two. So I decided to create my own twist.

* * *

**Chapter 1: **_Light_

"_Natsume_, hurry up. The movie's starting in an hour!" Rika calls out, standing in front of my dressing-room. I can picture her clearly—probably leaning against the wall, one foot propped up, slurping down one of those 'nutritional' smoothies ("Just because we have high metabolism doesn't mean we shouldn't be healthy!") while eyes glued firmly to the screen of her phone.

Hatsugara Rika, otherwise known as my best friend, is an upbeat, friendly girl who always has an opinion for everything—in contrast, she is the opposite of me. For twelve years old, we both have been blessed with unnatural beauty, somehow being roped into modeling for a part time job.

I open the door, all dressed in my favorite white sundress, hair pulled high up in a ponytail and just as I had predicted, she was leaning against the wall, texting. "I'm done, Rika."

Almost instantly, she locks her pone and shoves it into the back of her shorts. "Finally, let's go."

She yanks me to her side and affectionately loops our arms together, dragging me outside the studio. "So when you were doing your shoots, these two girls were in the back whispering and laughing and like, pointing at you. And obviously, I had to find out what was up. Turns out they were talking about you! And I was like _'you better take that back'_ and then they were like _'who's gonna make us shrimp?'_ and then I said..."

And that was how I, Mochizuki Natsume, unknowingly spent my last day in Tokyo.

...

"We're _moving_?" This was not happening.

"That's right 'Tsume! Mama and I have decided that it'll be best to move right away, so you and Ryuta should go pack right now." Papa said that in such a cheerful tone that I almost didn't believe him. Over to my right, I faintly hear Rika's chopstick clatter to the ground. This was not happening.

"But...but why?"

"Well, grandpa had a very nasty fall and it's up to us to go support him in his time of need. And besides, I will inherit his house, so it's only natural for us to move." This was a stupid idea. Moving to a whole other place? I mean, sure, it's still summertime and we have a good two weeks before school starts—but _our whole life is here. _Mama and her job, me and _my _job, Ryuta's about to start primary school, and Rika.

Suddenly, Rika stands up from the table, the screeching of her chair interrupting the shocked silence in our house. _"I OBJECT, JII-CHAN!"_

Papa shakes his head at her and rolls his brown eyes, "I'm only 39 Rika...you really shouldn't be calling me Jii-chan,"

Rika ignores him, of course and starts her rant. "Natsume absolute can NOT move. She's my sister and I love her and she's my moon and dammit, she can't move!"

"Language, child." My mother quietly chides, but rather more out of habit.

Once again, Rika ignores my parents. "We have to work on our new album shoot and school's out to start! Not to mention, it'll be our last year before junior-high! I need my best friend here, I'm lonely and ugly and a hermit. She reminds me to do homework and she keeps me from doing something stupid! And, and— _she can't just leave!_"

By now, she's almost close to tears. I can tell because she's scrunching her nose every few seconds and she keeps on grabbing the ends of her shirt. Calmly, I grab her hand and pull her towards me, and instantly, she clings to me. The crook of my neck starts to become wet with tears, but I don't care. Secretly, I'm very touched that she would outright deny my leave in front of my parents. I'm glad I mean as much as she means to me.

My parents are silent during this occurrence, and Ryuta has quietly left the dinner table to go play with some toys, though I know that Rika hasn't changed their minds at all.

I'm leaving Tokyo.

...

The first day after our move to the countryside, I wake up confused and frazzled. The ceiling looks different, lacking the fan smack right in the middle, and it takes me a minute to comprehend that we've moved in to Hinemosu—my grandpa's estate.

Grandpa's fine, or as close to fine as he can get with a few broken bones, slowly recovering into his usual self. I'm not as worried as I should be, because I know in my heart grandpa's a tough man, and it'll take more than a measly fall for him to leave and rejoin grandma. Ryuta, on the other hand, keeps bawling every time he catches a glance at grandpa, bed-ridden and in a cast. Thankfully, Mama has restricted him from only visiting grandpa three times a day, in hopes of giving the house a little peace.

Papa somehow managed to keep his job, only now sending all his paperwork and business stuff through the internet. And Mama is taking time off to care grandpa back to health and look after the house.

"...overall, it's pretty boring around here." I tell Rika over the phone. We've decided to remain in touch by calling each other every day, and when things are a little less hectic, Mama and Papa have agreed to letting me go to Tokyo during the weekends, or if Rika wants, she's allowed to pop over here anytime.

We talk for a little bit more before saying our reluctant goodbyes, seeing as she has to go down the studio for another job. My modeling business right now is unclear, though my manager, Dio, assures me that they have not released me from my job yet but rather changed me to a 'waiting' model ("We aren't going to let one of our best models just leave like that!").

For the meantime, however, it's only two in the afternoon and I have nothing to do.

"Ryuta," he's playing by the TV, already accustomed to the house "let's go exploring." And in an instant, we're wandering around the town, getting a feel of our new home.

We walk around for hours, passing the ocean, the shrines, the food stands, etc. Enoshima, our town, is famous for its shrines and rituals, gaining immense attention from tourists. I remember once coming down here with my modeling friends and it was actually kind of fun. But by myself, it's lonely. And quiet—a deafening type of quiet.

"Oh my," a plump lady dressed in a flowery apron appears, "what a kind sister you are, taking your brother out for a walk, I presume?" I nodded, wracking my head to remember who exactly she was, she looked awfully familiar.

She walks up to us, one hand outstretched to grab onto mine, which I gave hesitantly. Who was she? "My name is Masaraha Maki but you can call me Masa-san. I was at your father's party yesterday," Oh now I remember, she was one of my father's guest who came to get drunk over the fact that we have moved to this town. Apparently, my parents had many friends in the countryside. "won't you come in for a bit?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude," I draw out slowly, not wanting to offend her. She seems to kind for that.

"Nonsense," she said, already lifting up Ryuta, who responded well to her embrace "Kanna already has some friends over, and I have a big glass of lemonade, just calling for the two of you." Barely four, the sun still high in the sky, I found no reason to decline and so I followed her into her house. This town was strange—everyone seemed to live in big houses, a major difference seeing as Tokyo was packed with people, causing the houses to be smooched together.

"_KANNA~_ guess who's here!" She calls out when she reaches a group of kids around my age. Everyone looks up but only the girl with chubby stature and short pig-tails responds. "KYA! It's Natsume from _Plume_!"

Masa-san pushes me down the stairs and immediately, the group makes space for me to squeeze in.

"Wow! So you're the new girl everyone's been talking about?" The guy sitting across from me exclaims.

I lift my eyebrows up in confusement. "How did you guys know about me?"

The girl sitting next to him, responds readily. "This town is so small that any news spreads like a wild-fire!"

"Yeah," Kanna inputs "and we all heard about that 'adult-only' party."

"Oh, that..." I nodded my head knowingly. I wasn't personally there but it was pretty crazy, at least that's what the aftermath in my house tells me. "yeah, my dad must've really missed this town."

The girl that wasn't Kanna ("Her name is Haseya and his is Tomo" Kanna whispers encouraging to me.) speaks up again. "But this is crazy! You're a model! We're basically having a superstar at our school! Everyone's going to flip when they realize we're already friends. I can totally rub it in Yuki's face."

Tomo laughs obnoxiously at that. "Yuki's such a bitch, man." I notice in the corner of my eye, Kanna fidgeting at that word. She must've been too nervous to scold him for his language. "She totally called me out that one time I wore my shirt backwards, talking some crap about me being too stupid and not even knowing how to wear clothes."

"Well, she was right—you are pretty stupid ("Hey!") but really Natsume, she's crazy." Haseya comments seriously. "She's obsessed with Kou-chan. I swear she almost cut my hair off one time when I gave Kou-chan a piece of paper."

At that, Tomo bursts out in laughter again. "I remember that! You wore your hair in a hat for the rest of that week."

"—like I said, she's crazy."

"You live near Kou-chan, don't you Natsume?" It was Kanna this time, somehow sparkled by the topic of this 'Kou-chan'. "Where does he live?"

"On the top of the hill right behind Hinemosu."

"Wow, I thought that was a shrine?" I asked, sincerely surprised. I remember staring at that house last night, precisely thinking that the house somehow looked to be watching over the whole town, in a protective manner. "Nah, Kou's just rich like that."

I looked to Kanna for some elaboration. "Kou-chan's, or rather Hasegawa Kouichiro's, family is said to be a close descendant of God. And Kou-chan's the heir of the house. His family protects the shrines of this town and also the town's people."

"His family's really overprotective of him, God-like and all that junk." Tomo said, sipping onto his lemonade casually.

"He's kind of a bad-boy, too. Gets into heaps of trouble, that boy." Haseya supplies.

"Yeah, but it's not like he gets into actual trouble. I mean there's only so much the Hasegawa family can take away from him." Tomo counters her claim.

"He's the most popular guy in our primary school. Everybody looks up to him," Kanna says in a wistful tone, with a far-away look in her face. I can only imagine how she feels about him. Most likely admiration, one-sided love. I can never differentiate between the two.

Slowly, the conversation drifts away from this 'Kou' guy and our group talks more about other things, while Ryuta spends his time baking with Masa-san.

Before I know it, the sun has gone down and it's time for Ryuta and I to leave.

...

_"Thank's for having us over Kanna-san." It wasn't a bad day. Sure, I would rather be spending time with Rika over in Tokyo, but I'm grateful she allowed us to come over and made me feel more welcome. _

_"No problem at all, Natsume. I just hope you'll join our group."__  
_

_"Sure thing," I let out a small smile, maybe this town was alright._

_"Wait—I just wanted to warn you about that ocean behind your house. You saw it already right?"_

_"Yeah, right. What's wrong?"_

_"It's just that there are rumors about the ocean being dangerous because apparently a God lives there. It might sound silly, but like what Papa always says to me, better safe than sorry."_

_"...Alright, thanks for the heads up."_

_..._

It's one o'clock in the morning, when I'm jolted awake. The adults, my parents' friends, have come back for another night of drinking and reminiscing and it seems like the party has yet to die down. I know it's futile to try to go back to sleep. It's too hot and loud. Without thinking, I slip on some shorts and a sleeveless shirt and climb out the window.

The air is nicer than in my room, but I still feel clammy. This whole town is making me feel clammy and claustrophobic. Maybe I'm not as adjusted as I had hoped to be.

I was sweating and walking around dazed, with a feeling of not fully comprehending what was going on around me. I didn't realize how closed the beach was, but in minutes, I had arrived by the shore. I almost moaned in pleasure when I dipped my feet along the shoreline, letting a cool feeling sink from my toes to the top of my head. A light wind blew towards me, whipping my long hair across, and I continued to walk alongside.

This place was weird. The shore was covered in rocks, tiny granite pushed together to cause a makeshift looking sand. It was stupid to be out here this late, and I couldn't help but hear Kanna's warning echo in the back of my mind, but somehow, I couldn't move away—it was as if something was calling me, as if the _waves_ were calling me.

It was at this moment, my body shifted from feeling clammy...to feeling bad, depressed even.

The waves, which crashed about in such a lively manner, made me feel envious and dead inside. It must've been the sleepiness or fatigue, but I feel like, somethings missing. Like a void in my heart. Like I desire something that I don't quite know.

It's all very strange.

Is this just homesickness for Tokyo? Surely, it wouldn't be this dramatic. Am I missing Rika? But I've been away from her for long periods of time and yet our friendship stays intact. Is it modeling? I quickly dismissed that thought though; modeling was more like an extra-activity or hobby. It ceases to interest me nor bore me.

Just then, a loud splash catches my attention. I'm quick to my feet, running and hiding in a little cradle of boulders. Please don't let it be rapists, please don't let it be rapists, no rapists, no rapists.

I hear the little pitter-patters of the footsteps, and before I can move again, a half-naked boy clad only in his boxers is standing in front of me. His skin, pale and white reminds me of snow, is glowing in the moonlight. Hair, short and wet, with droplets of water running down his face. His body, lean and skinny, portrayed just how young he was. His eyes, haunting and dark even under the night sky, seem to stare holes into my own, lit shivers down my back.

All in all,_ he was beautiful. _

"Hm, so this is Hinemosu's precious granddaughter?" He walked closer to me and with every step, I felt my breath leave me. Flushed and scared—who is this guy?—I didn't know how to respond. Just what was going on?

"Don't so a word to anyone..." I heard him mumble, before he dropped a lengthy lobster onto my lap.

(And then he was gone.)

(Where did that beautiful white light go?)


End file.
